Published U.S. PATENT Application No. 2011/0318150 to a Bale Picking Truck by Kelderman shows a method and apparatus for quickly and efficiently picking up and removing biomass bales from a field in which the biomass was baled, compactly stacking the bales after picking the bales off the ground and efficiently depositing the bales on the ground at a staging area for later loading onto a semi trailer, straight truck, or train car, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0045310 to a Bale De-Stacker by Kelderman relates to a method and apparatus for efficiently un-stacking square bales from a stack and conveying the square bales in small sets or individually once they arrive from their aforementioned staging area to the place that they are to be used, such as in an ethanol production plant or a plant where the bales are to be burned for fuel.
Finding an existing device to efficiently load the bales from the ground at the staging area onto a truck or from the aforementioned Bale Picking Truck to move them to a place to be used, such as to a Bale De-Stacker at an ethanol production plant or a plant where the bales are to be burned for fuel, is problematic.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for efficiently load the bales from the staging area onto a truck to move them to a place to be used.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.